Tag: Teaching Tools

Aaron Becker’s Journey: A True Picture Book

I was first introduced to Aaron Becker’s Journey while doing a teaching placement not too long ago. What I did not realize at first was how versatile this book would become, on not only an age level, but a conceptual and skill-teaching level as well. I have since read it to students at the primary and junior levels, and each time, this book has not failed to create a splash. Becker relinquishes the use of words to tell a story completely in the hands of a child’s imagination. He trusts our young readers, as we must, to make their own meaning out of this heartfelt tale.

I will intentionally not discuss the plot of this book, as I do want to create any skew toward a certain interpretation when the book provides for many. Suffice to say, this book is about a young girl who begins a journey and along the way, discovers much about herself and life.

Juxtaposing grayscale pictures with bold singular colour in the beginning, and then opening wide a world blossoming with colour as the book progresses, Becker unfolds a world that students can envelope themselves in. With magical crayons and castles, boats and hot air balloons, rescue missions and the king’s guards, this book will allow your students to draw the important messages of friendship, selflessness, generosity, imagination and compassion. The sensitively-coloured and poignantly-drawn illustrations provide your students with the opportunity to lose themselves in another world where they can tell you a story as it plays out in the turning  pages. For once, you will not be the one narrating, they will, and they will take much pleasure in making their own tale. The thing I love most about this book is that it allows for a variety of different levels of interpretation that your students can attach themselves to. It prods their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, it allows them to use language to describe pictures, it helps them with recall and attention to fine detail, and at its best, it provides them with the opportunity to acknowledge the value of a variety of perspectives. It is especially great for those of your students who just do not like reading; a great place to start to show them that books can be fun and instructive, without the burden of a multitude of words.

Teachers, this book is well worth the investment, and a true gem that will prove timeless for your students each year.

 

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The Deborah Ellis Installments (Part II): My Name is Parvana

As promised, here is Book#4 in the Breadwinner Series, My Name is Parvana by Deborah Ellis.

In this last book, we meet an older Parvana. She is 15-years old now, and has been through more heartbreaking tragedy. When the story opens, Parvana is in prison. She has been captured by American soldiers, while wandering through a bombed-out school site. As we follow Parvana through her ordeal in prison, the story jumps back into the past to fill in the gaps with what has transpired since we last met her. Ellis does a fantastic job of superimposing the past on the present. Parvana is no longer the feisty young girl with a quick tongue. No, now she holds her tongue to create a deafening silence when questioned by the American soldiers. Over and over and over and over again. Yes, Parvana has matured. And logically so, because she has lost more, and made more difficult and selfless choices. Her innocence is replaced with shrewdness and air-tight resolve. If she was strong when we were first introduced to her, she possess mammoth strength now. If, as readers, we admired her courage and smarts in the beginning, we will love her for these now. Ellis reaches into the soul of Parvana’s character and brings her to life. She makes her feel like a real person. And therein lies a huge portion of Ellis’ talent; her ability to make her characters come to life. It is no wonder we feel a closeness to them. Ellis does a great justice connecting her audience to children around the world who have no voice to fight for themselves. In this series, and finally, in this book, Ellis gives them all a voice. Especially through Parvana’s silence while she is in prison, we see the grace and bravery with which this young girl operates.

Teachers, your students can compare Parvana’s life to their own. They can make connections and then draw contrasts. They also get to understand a bit about how things work in military prisons in areas of war. This book can even be done with older grades (intermediates – 7 & 8) as a stand-alone with a thorough backstory provided. Students can jump into the psychology behind scare tactics and how prisoners are treated in war-torn countries, even if they are innocent, and even if they are children. You can use this as an opportunity to talk about bigger concepts in their basic form, such as different types of governments and their structures, democracy, justice and injustice, the effects of perception on belief. Your students can further see hope and sacrifice at one of their bests through the many sacrifices made by different characters, and the hope kept alive by others.

Teachers, you can also talk about the Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan Organization and their not-for-profit endeavours to improve the lives of women in war-ridden countries such as Afghanistan. Deborah Ellis is a true genius at her work, and she has the passion to make her work endearing and relatable.

So, even if you don’t actually end up teaching this last book, you yourself will find it a worthwhile read. To say it is an eyeopener would be too much of a cliché.

 

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Hold onto Your Hat! Olympic Wreaths Just in!

To wrap up our theme of Olympic Games this week (and with the Olympics ending on Sunday), I had my students make Olympic Wreaths in class. I came upon a picture of this online, and found it to be an easy and fun activity that even my staff had fun doing!

Making Olympic Wreaths:

1. You will need sheets of green construction paper, paper plates (white or green) and a pair of scissors. All of these materials can be bought from the Dollar Store.

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2. Take a sheet of the green construction paper and fold it twice so you end up with a small square.

3. Draw leaves on the green surface of the folded construction paper, filling it up as much as possible.

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4. Cut out the leaves and store them in a (plastic) container.

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5. Take your paper plates and cut out the insides. Hold onto these insides for later.

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6. Put liquid glue onto the insides of the cut-out paper plates and leave one on each table for students to use.

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7. If available, use flat-nibbed utensils for spreading (other alternatives: Popsicle sticks or dip leaves directly) the glue onto the plate and gluing the leaves one by one.

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8. Glue leaves in one direction, or both, alternating every few leaves to achieve desired pattern.

9. When wreaths are ready, make sure to write each student’s name in marker. And, enjoy!

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Championing Graphic Novels for Classroom Teaching

Some of my favourite graphic novels; great for teaching students Grades 4-12

As teachers, we like to revert to the tried-and-true classics when doing Novel Study Units, and teaching our students various bigger life themes. The likes of To Kill a Mockingbird, Inherit the Wind, The Great Gatsby, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Jane Eyre, The Importance of Being Ernest, Brave New World, 1984 and then of course those by the Great Bard, for the intermediate and senior grades. Trust me, I’ve done a good number of these in High School. And then there are the likes of Bridge to Terabithia, Freak the Mighty, Charlotte’s Web, Chronicles of Narnia for the junior grades.

Now, let me pose this question: Have you considered a graphic novel for your Novel Study Unit? I have talked to a lot of teachers, especially in the junior and intermediate grades, and they are incredibly distrusting of the graphic novel. It is viewed by many teachers as a medium of entertainment, and not learning, for their students. Granted, there are graphic novels out there that are created with the sole intent of entertaining, but a lot of incredibly clever graphic artists and writers, collaborate to produce thought-provoking and striking graphic novels.

I would like to make a case for the teaching of graphic novels in grades across the board. I believe they have much value to add to our students’ learning. First of all, graphic novels are not just about the pictures. They are about the relationship between text and image. They are about the meaning in between the panels and the way the characters are drawn and coloured. They are about what is omitted and what is included. They are about meaning and form at their very core. However, they are also incredibly accessible. Graphic novels have the power to engage students who are not willing readers of the traditional text. They have the know-how to capture this audience and potentially turn them into readers. Now, teachers, would that not be a cause for celebration?

Graphic novels further ignite creativity, they inject perspective and then offer other viewpoints contrasting with that first perspective. Art is introduced in an appealing way to students who might not necessarily find themselves drawn to it. The graphic novel has the unbridled power to marry different forms of expression to achieve greater meaning.

Several graphic novels written over the last few years have sought to take big risks and tackle radical topics. Sunny Side Up by the Holm brother and sister duo (Fear not, I shall review this one in time), El Deafo by Cece Bell, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, Maus by Art Spiegelman and Smile by Raina Telgemeier (a handful of my favourites) are some of the graphic novels that have burst out onto the scene and made an impact. From tackling big issues of substance abuse to identity and war in Iran, from physical disabilities to World Wars and the struggles of adolescence, these books, and others, have the power to change thinking. They have the power to begin passionate discussion among students. So, teachers, pray tell, do they not deserve a ranking among the greats? Just because they are “newer” and “different” does not make them unworthy of being entered into the canon of literature-teaching tools.

One of my personal favourites is Watchmen by Alan Moore. This masterpiece makes the movie look ridiculous because, within its pages, it houses depth of meaning and form. It catapults the reader into the story and pulls the narrative around that reader-creator relationship.

Graphic novels are not just quick books that you can read on a trip from Toronto to New York City. They are fast becoming vehicles in which to express explosive thought. So teachers, what say you? Give the graphic novel a chance?

 

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